Snowism and Cultivation of Self-Awareness

the Snow, the Trees, the Terrain, flow with the grace of Terrestrial Intelligence.

i offer my deepest gratitude to the universe for this opportunity: the Awareness, the Life, the Body, the Mind, the Earth.

i humbly honor the possibility, provided by the generosity of Nature, by living it to the fullest.

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snowboarding can be spiritual in many ways. for one with an insightful eye, the secret laws that make up physical reality can be discovered by self-aware riding of water in solid phase.

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1) Purification of the Conscious Mind, Part I

riding teaches us that the conscious mind’s function is a simple one, made unnecessarily complex by entrenched beliefs.

for the masterful rider, the conscious mind’s function is to report sensory input to the body, and choose an overall direction. the body’s own mind* handles the complexities of adaptation of Technique to Terrain. masterful riding effects an ecstatic experience, a combination of freedom, love, and openness. riding becomes fluid, rhythmic, and effortless.

as an analogy, think of walking. the mind simply chooses the direction and records sensations. the act of walking is performed naturally by the body-mind. its functions include governing the coordination of muscles and also adapting the pressures and tensions of motion to the Terrain. the conscious mind plays no role in and most of the time is unconscious of the complex physical functions of walking; that is to say, it does not consciously “know how” walking works nor does it need to.

for a beginner rider, the conscious mind harbors a belief that it must first earn and contain the knowledge required for riding coordination and balance. this belief (expressed internally in a negative way as “i don’t know how to” or “i’m not very good at”) is false, as the body-mind is already capable of performing the necessary calculations. the conscious mind interferes with the process of riding by manufacturing a Fear-distrust**-tension reaction which takes over command of the body, manifesting as unnecessary stiffenings of movement and non-harmonious, energy-draining tensionings of incorrect posture.

even the fastest and most logically sound of conscious minds is incapable of processing and directing the body to maintain balance in varying Terrain; it’s too slow by several orders of magnitude. worse yet, in attempting to take over the body’s tasks the conscious mind becomes too overburdened to perform its own functions very well; those of choosing direction and recording sensory input. the resulting instability and wasted effort of incorrect Technique cultivate Fear energy, and the beginner looks down towards his body in instinctual self-preservation to no avail, failing to look ahead to report upcoming Terrain. the body-mind is left blind with insufficient information to respond to Terrain in a timely fashion, and the body is hobbled by unnecessary stiffness. in these ways and others, Fear increases potential for failure and injury exponentially.

* – the center of computation in the human system that – among many other astounding functions – performs the unfathomably complex calculations we refer to as “coordination” and “balance” and instructs the body’s muscles into correct motion. this center and other centers in the human system that perform calculations and initiate functions at impossible speeds are generally (in modern science and modern opinion) lumped together as “the subconscious.”

** – distrust in this case refers to the conscious mind’s distrust of the body’s innate capabilities, resulting in a tendency to take over functions rightfully belonging to the body’s subconscious mind.

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2) Mystique of Technique

Technique is essential to masterful riding, and experience is the only soil in which Technique can grow. as an analogy, think of a baby initially learning to walk.

this statement at first appears to contradict the previously stated notion that our conscious mind’s belief that it must first earn the technical knowledge is false. however there is no contradiction, because in fact it is not the duty of the conscious mind to learn Technique, but simply to provide information into the feedback loop by remaining conscious of sensations.

when properly fulfilled without interference this function of sensory awareness frees the body-mind to experience and allows correct rhythms of motion to develop and sink into what we call muscle memory. visual awareness of upcoming Terrain prepares the body-mind to respond with appropriate action and touch/feel awareness of the consequences of muscle pressures discriminates between correct and incorrect motion, and helps to record this knowledge into the body’s memory. thus harmonious functioning of body and mind is achieved in a perfectly closed feedback loop. Fear breaks open this loop, resulting in immediate deterioration of Technique.

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3) Syncopating Rhythms

riding teaches us a balanced, harmonious syncopation of seemingly opposing rhythms into a perfected whole.

in our appointed comfort zones – groomed terrains – Techniques for controlling speed, direction, and stability are developed.
this is a rhythm of control.

out of comfort, the wild Terrains of nature challenge our awareness, balance, and adaptability.
this is a rhythm of surrender.

a masterful riding rhythm is simultaneously composed of both, control and surrender entwined in syncopated harmony, capable of controlling speed, stability, and direction while adjusting and responding to varying snow textures, features of Terrain, and remaining impervious to interferences from Fear-fueled imagination.

the master’s knowing skill and physical capabilities endow him with fluid, powerful, fearless and inspired riding.

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4) The Importance of Efficiency

riding demands a considerable flow of energy. the beginner is plagued by the inefficiencies of misplaced efforts; tense, static, awkward postures, unnecessary clenching of muscles, incorrect motions and constant resistance to the natural forces of acceleration along the fall-line quickly drain his energies. in the short term this causes much discomfort and increases chances of injury, but in the long term it naturally serves to make the body stronger and develop stamina.

as the rider masters correct motion and rhythms Technique grows in efficiency. energy previously used to sustain unnecessary tensions becomes available to him, endowing him with new powers and capabilities (such as the ability to perform tricks, ride at higher speeds effortlessly, and adapt to more challenging conditions.)

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the ongoing study of the functions and consequences of Fear is an obviously integral part of Snowism. while i have superficially touched upon this topic here already, this subject warrants much deeper observation and study. this essential aspect of Snowism will be addressed in depth in the (hopefully near) future.

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i recognize this material can tend to be mentally dense and obscure. translating the wordless wisdom of self-awareness into a language that can be understood logically is a difficult task which i can only hope i’m doing some small measure of justice to.

in doing this, my hope is that you, as the vicarious reader, can recognize and glean some general usefulness out of my writings. the fundamental purpose of these entries dedicated to Snowism is not to express my own enthusiasm so much as to point out the depth and transformational wisdom inherent in the process of learning in general, regardless of the subject matter at hand. whether you are a lover of riding snow or not is immaterial; the point is that with sufficient passion and focus, a dedicated pursuit of any subject matter can result in profound, fundamental insights into the essential Nature of our lives.

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to me, religion is a lot more fun when it is chosen by the heart, rather than dogmatically enforced by cultural and educational means. i recognize, as i hope you will too, the magic of an existence in a universe where any deep and self-aware pursuit of love and passion can teach us all we need to know about making our lives an ultimately meaningful experience. this, to me, is the essence and the purpose of all religion in the history of our kind.